


On the Same Page

by TwoPisces



Category: New Girl
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-15
Updated: 2012-10-15
Packaged: 2017-11-16 09:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoPisces/pseuds/TwoPisces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I just wanted to be clear. That I think we're on the same page." "We are! On the same page I mean. I think." Spoilers through See Ya</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Same Page

After the impromptu, midnight dance fest in their rooms, Jess was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling when it occurred to her that Nick had no bed. She sat up and started grabbing pillows and a spare blanket she had in her room. She opened her door and saw Nick's door standing open, his room empty except for his boom box. She glanced down the hall and saw him sitting on the edge of the couch, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Nick?"

He jerked his head up at her voice and gave her a smile.

"Hey Jess. I was just trying to get comfortable."

"I was bringing you some stuff since I realized you don't have a bed. Where'd...what's his name go?"

He laughed and pointed to the door. "That is one strange dude. I came out here to get some water and forge for something to sleep on and he ran like I was going to kill him. What did you guys say about me anyways?"

"I was pretty bitchy toward him. The guys were cool though."

He looked at her like he had in the desert when she'd told him she wanted him to be happy. It made her stomach clench and her lip pull between her teeth. She shifted uncomfortably and shoved the pillows out toward him.

"I brought you pillows! And a blanket!"

His eyes narrowed before his lips tilted up and he reached out to take the mass of cotton and down.

"Thanks Jess. And...thanks for...for being you. I would have missed you."

She smiled at him and turned to go back to her room. She pushed her door shut and let out the breath she was holding. She ran her hands over her face and walked forward to flop onto her bed. She was almost asleep again when her phone pinged for a new text message. Reaching blindly to grab the phone off her night stand, she turned her face and thumbed the unlock to load the message. The little blue bubble from Cece popped up.

_So Nick's back, huh? Watcha gonna do about that, hmm?_

"Ugh." She hit the power button and tossed her phone back onto the night stand.

-/-/-/-/-

The next morning she and the guys started moving Nick back into the apartment. She, as the only girl (and the only one that volunteered), was just finishing making his bed while the guys were opening beers in the kitchen when she noticed a drawer from his desk sitting by the nightstand. She picked it up and was about to slide it into place when she saw the corner of a photo sticking out of the back corner. Pulling the drawer back out, she noticed the invitation to the wedding they went to as a "couple" on top and a small stack of photos under it. She glanced at the door then pulled the stack out, sliding the invitation onto the top of his desk. She sucked in a breath at the first picture staring back at her.

It was her. She was resting her elbows on the counter in the kitchen with a beer sitting in front of her, talking to someone. Her entire face lit up in a smile. She flipped through the rest of the pictures and while there was a good deal of variety, some group shots, some from the apartment, others from the bar or the wedding, all of them included her.

"Found some pictures, huh?"

She startled so hard that the pictures flew from her hands all over the desk and floor. She turned and found Nick chuckling at her. Chuckling while standing very close to her.

"Ni-Nicholas! You shouldn't sneak up on people, mister!"

"Funny coming from the woman poking around in my stuff."

Well, what was she supposed to say to that? She knelt down to gather the pictures and he followed, his longer frame grabbing the few beyond her reach.

"I'm on the same page as you, you know."

Her eyebrows drew together. Page of what? At her obvious confusion he continued. "I...I want you to be happy too."

Oh. Oh.

"Oh."

Well, she was certainly stretching the bounds of the English language today.

"I just wanted to be clear. That I think we're on the same page."

He started to get up and she broke out of her shocked haze and grabbed his arm, keeping him on one knee.

"We are! On the same page I mean. I think."

His smile illuminated his entire face. She loved when he smiled like that, especially at her.

"Good. Because I'm over being stupid. I'm going to re-enroll in law school next week. I want to finish."

She honestly wasn't that surprised. She liked to think she knew Nick pretty well and she always knew, deep down, that he wanted to finish law school.

"Have you told them?" She tilted her head toward the kitchen.

"Nah. I didn't want to make a big deal of it. I wanted to tell you first anyways. Maybe you can pre-grade my papers for me so I don't make a damn fool of myself."

They both chuckled as they got up, her handing him the pictures to put back in the drawer. She smoothed her skirt down and watched as he paused in closing the drawer, reaching in and pulling out something small. He pushed the drawer shut and slid two small seashells on his desk between his laptop and a silver-framed picture of his mom from the 70's. His mom was rocking a paisley print dress in yellows, oranges and greens that she drooled over the first time she saw it.

"What are those from?"

"That night we spent on the beach. They were near your hair while you were sleeping so I grabbed them. Juggled them in my hand until I woke you up."

She warred with herself over whether she should ask him about that night. They were on the same page, right? Did this count?

"That night...I thought I felt...something...while I was half asleep. I mean, it could have been just me sleeping on the beach and having crazy dreams-"

"I laid with you a while. Held you. Figured I might as well take advantage of the only chance I'd have if I really was sick. Besides, I figured even if you woke up you'd never hit a cancer patient."

He laughed quietly and kept his eyes downcast as she studied his face, realizing what she thought but never had any proof of.

"So it's been a while for you then."

"Heh, yeah. I did lots of stupid shit trying to avoid it."

He looked up and they smiled at each other. She took a step toward the door and tilted her head.

"Come on. Let's go grab a beer with the guys and celebrate the many, many, many credit hours to come."

-/-/-/-/-

It turns out that Nick had only a handful of classes, final projects and papers left to graduate. Of course, there was the bar exam too. They got into a routine in the evenings. She would bring her schoolwork into his room and sit on the bed grading while he did his homework at his desk. Once she was done he would bring his laptop over to her and they would sit together while she looked over his papers. If he didn't have a paper for her to proofread she would quiz him with flash cards he made for her. Good grades on tests earned him six packs of his favorite (expensive) beer. When he could access his grades at the end of the term and saw his GPA hovering at 3.9 she made him cupcakes.

She was like his own personal cheerleader. The guys asked how it was going but Jess threw herself into his school life. She wanted him to succeed as much as he wanted to and it made his heart flip.

It was the night before his bar exam, two weeks after he had officially finished his law degree. He and Jess were laying on their stomachs, going over his flash cards again. He felt...confident. Giddy almost.

"Well mister, that's all 500 cards. All of them correcto! I think you've got this in the bag."

Her smile was wide as she bounced the stack of cards against her palm. He smiled back at her and leaned over to set his empty beer bottle on the floor.

"Thank you, Jess. Seriously, I don't know if I could have done this without you cheering me on."

"Well, I do believe I make a pretty good cheerleader. No pom pons or short skirt needed for this girl!"

He laughed as she sat up and bounced on her knees on the bed, doing a little cheer. She smiled at him and tossed the stack of cards toward the head of his bed before flopping down to lay on her side, facing him.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"It's weird. I feel confident. For once."

"You should. You picked this stuff up so fast. How long until you get the results?"

"Eight to ten weeks."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna have to pick up a hobby just so I can keep myself occupied. Think knitting would be good?"

She shoved his shoulder as they laughed. God, how was she going to survive 8-10 weeks of waiting? She watched his face and he stared back at her. They'd had moments like this lately. Just looking at each other, the air thick with the sexual tension. They hadn't talked about them again after she had found those pictures. There had been more touching lately, his hand warm against her lower back or her hip, hers settling against his shoulder. She just wished he'd-

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

He shifted until he was less than a foot away from her, propped up on one arm. Her breathing picked up and she stared at him. He was picking at a thread on his quilt.

"I want to kiss you."

Oh, wow. Just like that. He looked up at her and met her eyes. She smiled at him.

"So why haven't you?"

She watched the corner of his mouth curl upwards and then his hand slid along her jaw to wrap around the side of her head, tilting her lips up to meet his. They met softly, just a soft pressure before he pulled back and rubbed his nose against hers, both of them smiling before he settled his lips against hers again, nudging her to lay on her back as he hovered half over her. The only thing she could think about was how well they just fit. Her hands moving along his biceps before settling on running along his shoulder up to the nape of his neck and the short hair there. Their lips opened together, their tongues meeting and sliding together.

It could have been a few minutes or an hour before he pulled away, rubbing noses with her again and opening his eyes to look down at her. She smiled up at him and let her fingers run along his cheek down to his chin.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

Her eyes must have gone wide because he laughed and ran his fingers through her hair.

"No, that's...not gonna happen tonight. Not that I don't want that, it's just-"

"You're taking the bar tomorrow."

They smiled at each other in understanding. She pushed his shoulder until he sat up and got up from the bed.

"Lemme go grab something to sleep in. Set your alarm. On second thought, set two. I'll be back."

He watched her slip out of his room, not even bothering to hide that she was leaving his room at one in the morning. He was pretty sure the guys knew they were dancing this line. He knew Jess had told Cece. He had gotten a hug and a kiss on the cheek one morning from Cece and a death glare and duel challenge from Schmidt.

Jess came back in and he fought to keep his expression neutral. She had on a pair of pink and yellow striped sleep shorts that barely covered her upper thighs and a pink tank top. All of it clung to her curves and all of it was entirely too small. Her hair was piled on top of her head in one of those messy/sexy, bun/pony tail things that women did. She looked at him and stopped.

"What?"

"Seriously Jess? Could you find something smaller to sleep in?"

She blushed and pulled the edge of her shorts as far down as they would go while still staying on her hips.

"I can go change or something. I have some men's pajamas that cover everything but it's like 75 degrees in here and-"

"Jess...it's fine. I'll deal."

She raised an eyebrow then set a hand on her hip and found her inner Austin Powers.

"Do I make you horny, baby?"

He barely kept a straight face and replied, "Jess, you always make me horny. Now will you please come to bed so I can get a few hours of sleep before the most important test of my life?"

Her soft smile made him relax. He hoped to be asking her to come to bed for a long, long time. He held up the covers and watched as she flicked off the light then slid into his arms, curling her hands up against his chest and his arms wrapped around her. He let his lips press against her forehead, then her temple, down to her cheek, her nose, then softly against her lips. He settled himself into the softness of his bed and started to drift off to sleep, her even breathing telling him she was right behind him.

-/-/-/-/-

When his alarm went off at 6, it was the soft beginning of an old Collective Soul song that woke him up. Jess stirred and pressed her face into his shoulder, pressing her body more into his side. He turned off his clock radio and disabled the second alarm on his cell.

"Hey, Jess?"

All he got was a muffled "go away." He let his fingers trail up and down her arm, whispering her name softly until her eyes opened and looked up at him, a dark, muted blue instead of the normal icy blue.

"Alarm clock went off. I have to get up and showered."

"Okay. You'll call me when you're done?"

"Yeah. Should take me an hour to get there and I have three to take the test."

"You won't need it, Mister Smarty Pants."

He smiled at her sleepy grin and moved his fingers up to her face. Tilting her chin up he kissed her slowly, lips just pressing together in a sweet morning kiss. He was about to pull back when her lips parted and the leg she had thrown over his hip tightened against him, bumping into his morning hard on. His hand tightened in her hair and he pushed her onto her back, his tongue seeking hers and his hips pressing her into the mattress. She moaned against his mouth, her leg hooking around his hip to bring him against the warmth between her legs. He rocked his hips into hers and pulled his mouth away.

"I only have an hour before I have to leave."

"I don't care. I want you."

They both shed clothing, her tiny tank top and shorts getting tossed toward the door, his sweatpants and boxers thrown on the floor at the end of the bed. Their pace going from frantic and hurried to slow, taking their time with each other, finally.

-/-/-/-/-

She was sprawled out on his chest after, his hand running up and down her naked spine. He turned his head to glance at the clock and realized he needed to get moving or risk being late.

"I don't want to get up but I'm going to be late if I don't."

She smiled against his chest and raised her head up, folding her hands to rest her chin on them. He tunneled his fingers through her dark, wavy hair and ran his thumb over her cheek.

"When you get back we can go have lunch at that greasy, hole in the wall diner you like."

"And settle in to wait two months?"

He sighed and leaned up to kiss her again. He slid her onto her side and wrapped the blanket around her, tucking her in.

"And settle in to wait two months. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Okay. Nick?"

"Yeah?" He stopped at the door, pulling his boxers over his hips and looked at her.

"I...just, be careful driving. And good luck."

He stared at her a second, taking in her dark hair weaving its way over her bare shoulders, the shimmery lavender polish on her nails, and the little freckle he now knew nestled on the inner curve or her right breast. It hit him with the force of a bodybuilder punching him in the gut.

He was completely, utterly in love with Jessica Day. He wanted to marry her, have 2.5 kids and a dog and a picket fence... He sucked in a breath and gave her what he hoped was a believable (and not bat shit crazy) smile.

"Thanks, babe."

He grabbed the khaki pants and dress shirt she had hung up for him last night ("You need to look like a law grad Nick, not a bartender. Plus, you look sa-moookin in this.") and headed for the shower. Flash cards started going through his head and he focused on the biggest three hour test he would ever take.

-/-/-/-/-

Eight weeks was a long time. A really long fucking time. He was pretty sure he had polished the bar down to its original wood in some places during his shift and Jess could open her own bakery with the amount of cupcakes she had baked. It was 3am on a Friday night/Saturday morning when he saw the email.

_The pass list is now available for Los Angeles County, California State Bar Examination._

He read it over and over, trying to let it sink it. Trying to tamp down the sudden freak out he felt coming on. Holy shit, this was it. All he had to do was click the link and type in the information on the card they had handed him at the test and he would know. He'd see his name...or not. All of the classes and tests and papers would mean something or they wouldn't.

He rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes, counting to twenty and taking a deep breath before he clicked the link. He pulled his desk drawer open to grab out the card with his login information before pausing to pull out the small white leather ring box. He opened it and set it on his desk, staring at it. The pink-white shimmer of the crushed seashells imbedded in the white gold band caught the pale light from his desk lamp, the light pink diamond sparkling in the center. He'd ordered it two weeks into their wait and he'd picked it up three days ago. He'd had to ask his father for suggestions for someone he could trust the seashells to and even being a diamond dealer in Chicago, his dad dealt with a gold dealer out of L.A. that knew someone who knew someone...eventually leading him to this jeweler. He wasn't creative but he knew Jess. She wasn't a princess cut diamond solitaire type of girl. She deserved unique and special.

He pulled the ring out and angled it to see the inscription. "You are my new dream." He thought it was corny but she loved that damn Tangled movie. They had watched it more than he would ever admit to the guys but she loved the ending. The quote was a play off of her favorite line but it rang true for him too. Even if he didn't pass, even if going back and finishing didn't mean he became a lawyer, he still got Jess. She still loved him and even if he worked in the bar until he was 80 and never did anything else, she was still all he would need to be happy.

He pushed the ring back into the box and cracked his knuckles before typing in his username and password. He watched the little lock pop up and the page load. He clicked on the Pass List tab and watched the names load. He scrolled down to the M's.

_Miller, Nicholas_

He was a fucking lawyer.

He wanted to scream and jump and throw things. Instead, he grabbed the ring box and went to Jess' room, cracking her door open and seeing her asleep on her side. He pushed the door shut and sat on the edge of her bed, running his hand up and down her arm.

"Jess, babe? Wake up."

She squished her eyes tighter shut and moved to the side of her bed, pushing the covers down.

"Mm, come on in Nick."

"No, babe, wake up."

She peeled an eye open and looked at him, taking in his wide awake-ness and groaning.

"Oh, god, did you drink a Red Bull by accident again? Seriously, I need sleep Nick. I was up until 1am with Schmidt because he and Cece got back together but he's freaking out because he wants her to move in here but he's afraid she'd use all of his stupid pomegranate citrus body scrub-"

"Jess! I passed."

Her eyes popped open and she sat straight up. The blanket fell to her waist and he could see the bright pink men's pajamas she wore with little ice cream cones all over them. She ran her fingers into her hair, pushing it out of her face and stared at him.

"You...you passed? You got the results? You're not screwing with me?"

"I'm a lawyer. I did it. We did it."

"Oh my god!"

She tackled him, her arms around his neck as she giggled and cheered. He pulled back and held her head in his hands, looking into her eyes, shiny with excitement.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Nick. I'm so proud of you."

"That's good. That improves my chances of this working out then."

"What?"

He moved her to sit on her knees in front of him and crossed his legs Indian style before he pulled the ring box out of his pocket. Her hands went up to her mouth and her eyes were wide and bright, vibrant blue. He opened the box and pulled the ring out, tossing the box on the bed and holding the ring between his thumb and pointer finger.

"I ordered this six weeks ago. Right after you told me you loved me. When we had dinner with your parents two weeks after that, I told your dad I was going to ask you and you know what he did? He grabbed my arm and told me it was about time."

They both laughed and he twisted the ring between his fingers again. God, this was harder than the bar. Harder than all of law school and undergrad combined.

"I know we went through all kinds of shit to get here. I know I've been an idiot. But...I love you. I love you more than anything. You are all that matters to me. And...I want you to be my wife. I want you to come home to me every night. I want everyone to know that I was the lucky bastard that got you. So...what do you say? Will you marry me?"

Her eyes swam with tears. Twin drops falling from her lashes, curling over her cheekbones to the corners of her wide smile, sliding down to drop off of her chin. She held her hand out to him and he slid the ring onto her finger. Her hands came up to cup his face as she leaned forward.

"You are everything I want in the world Nicholas Miller. I want you next to me for the rest of my life."

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and bumped his nose with hers. Their smiles resting against each other between kisses.

"So, does that mean yes?"

She giggled and kissed him again, pushing him down to lay on the bed and pulling his shirt off.

"It means yes. Yes times infinity plus infinity and-"

"Babe?"

"Yeah?"

He pushed her over to lay on her back and kissed her silent.

-/-/-/-/-

Schmidt threw a combo Nick's-a-lawyer/Nick-and-Jess-are-engaged party the next weekend. Their families and friends were on the roof, drinks and food being passed around and music playing from someone's iPod dock in the corner. Nick and Jess were talking to Winston when someone came to stand just behind Nick's shoulder. He glanced back and noticed Charlie, the owner of the bar waiting for them to end their conversation.

"Hey, I'll catch you guys later." Winston patted Jess' arm and went to grab another beer from the cooler.

Nick smiled at Charlie and shook his outstretched hand. He had known Charlie for years and always liked the man. He was easily in his late 70's, his once dark hair now silvery grey and his back hunched slightly from years behind the bar. His wife had died of breast cancer shortly after he'd bought the bar and he'd never remarried or had kids.

"Nick, son, congratulations. Although I'm sure I should be mad that I'm going to lose my best bartender."

"Oh, not any time real soon. I still need to get all of my shit lined up, find a job...it's going to be a little while."

"Good. That actually makes my gift a little easier on you then."

Jess' eyebrows drew together and she looked at Nick but he was as confused as she was.

"Charlie, you don't need to give me anything. Hell, I'm going to be quitting eventually. The only thing you should be giving me is a stern look and a few curse words."

The older man laughed and tugged on Nick's arm, leading them into a quieter corner of the roof. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a thick fold of papers, handing them to Nick. Nick unfolded them and started reading them, his eyes scanning and growing wider as he flipped through the pages.

"Congrats Nick. For both becoming a lawyer and making an honest man of yourself."

"Charlie...I can't accept this. H-how can you afford to do this?"

Jess looked between the men then at the papers. "What? What's going on?"

Nick continued to look at Charlie, the older man smiling at him. She was about to rip the papers out of Nick's non-verbal hands when Charlie turned to her and smiled.

"I'm giving Nick the bar and willing my estate to him when I kick the bucket."

Now Jess and Nick are both staring wide eyed at him. He was giving Nick the bar? What in the world is Nick going to do with the bar?

"Charlie..."

"Nick, I'm an old man. I don't have kids to pass it down to and to be honest, you're as close as I get. I know I can trust you to take care of it. Hell, I only come in once a week as it is and handle the tax shit." He laughed before sobering again. "You can be a lawyer and still take care of the bar. And it'll give you the money you need to start off right with this young lady."

"But Charlie...what are you going to do for money? What are you going to live off of?"

The older man let out a sharp laugh.

"Nick...if you look at the paperwork, you'd see. I've been a millionaire for a good many years, son. That bar makes a pretty penny and my hobbies aren't that expensive."

Jess looked up at Nick and saw the tears forming in his eyes, his lips pulled tightly together as he stared at the papers. She trailed her hand along his forearm until their fingers wound together. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile before turning back to Charlie.

"How can I ever thank you for this? This is just...so much."

"Just...don't run it into the ground. Or if you do, do it after I'm dead so I don't have to come kick your ass. You got it, son?"

"Yes, sir."

Charlie looked around the party and then between Jess and Nick. His hands that had been shoved in his pockets came out in a wide circle.

"Come on, give this old man a hug so I can get home. My shows are on in an hour and traffic makes me grumpy."

Nick practically lifted the guy off the cement, his arms around him in those tight, back slapping hugs guys did. Charlie pointed out his lawyer's card paperclipped to the papers and said goodbye, briefly touching her arm before heading for the stairs. Jess looked up at Nick, noting the shocked, happy expression on his face.

"So...guess that beats the bottle of Arbor Mist Winston gave us, huh?"

He laughed. A huge belly laugh right before he picked her up, her feet a foot off the ground as he spun them in a circle. It was contagious and she laughed with him. He was going to own a bar. They were going to own a bar. And he was going to be a lawyer. And they were getting married. Holy crap.

"Hey, Winston!"

She looked across the roof and saw Winston's head pop up before he jogged over them them. Their infectious smiles spreading to Winston as he approached.

"What's up man? What's with the happiness going on? Besides the marriage/lawyer thing."

"My man...how do you feel about taking my job at the bar?"

"Say what? Dude, it's your job because you do it. I mean, I need the money and...yeah, well...how do I get your job again?"

Nick showed him the papers and slowly Winston's face went from smiling to shock to sputtering at large numbers with lots of zeros.

"Holy shit dude. He gave you the bar. The whole bar. Holy fucking shit."

"Yeah. And since I'm going to be job hunting and getting married, I thought maybe you'd want my job."

"Dude...I don't know if I want you for a boss. It might mess up our carefully built friendship-"

"I'll pay you twice what I make."

"Done. I'll take it. Don't tell Schmidt."

Nick and Winston shook hands and did the guy, half hug, slapping backs thing then headed to the coolers for beers. She watched them grab Schmidt then bring out the papers again. She was making mental wagers with herself that Schmidt would break into dance or pass out when Cece came to stand beside her.

"Hey, lady. I overheard that there's some serious celebrating to be had."

Jess smiled at her best friend and hooked an arm through hers. She rested her head on Cece's shoulder and watched the boys toast over and over with their beers. Her smile filled her entire face and she knew her cheeks would hurt tomorrow.

"I'm happy Cece. All of the shit we've all gone through, all the bad decisions and the choices, good and bad, and look where we are."

Cece rested her head on Jess' and watched her boyfriend high five Nick and salute with his beer again. "I told you his feet always pointed to you."

"Yeah. It just took us a while to look down and see it too."

Cece smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her friends' head. Pulling herself upright, the model adjusted the straps on her sundress and grabbed Jess' hand.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go celebrate not being idiots anymore."

They crossed the roof and grabbed beers. Both curled into the sides of their boyfriends as Shelby came over to wrap an arm around Winston. The six of them toasted happy endings ("Oo, Cece, baby, what do you say about a happy ending later..." "Jar Schmidt!") and, for now, not being an idiot.


End file.
